Zaptec Go 2 vs Simpson & Partners Home 7

> V2G boundary: A “V2G-ready” label or ISO 15118 support does not by itself provide bidirectional power conversion, export approval or a live energy service. Confirm the compatible car, genuinely bidirectional hardware, certified complete system, installer, service and network approval before assigning value to the claim. Read the UK V2G explainer.

£11 apart, a decade of difference

The Zaptec Go 2 costs £638. The Simpson & Partners Home 7 costs £649. That £11 gap is almost meaningless — a rounding error swallowed by any installer's quote. What separates them is not price but philosophy: one charger bets on a technology that barely exists in UK homes yet; the other bets on outlasting everything else on your wall.

• Zaptec Go 2 — an AC charger marketed as V2G-ready because it publishes ISO 15118 communication support, with a MID-approved meter and free 4G. A technology play.
• Simpson & Partners Home 7 — UK-made anodised aluminium, a 10-year enclosure warranty, and premium finishes. A longevity play.

What V2G readiness actually buys you today

The Go 2's headline feature is its V2G-readiness label. In theory, your car feeds energy back to the grid when prices spike, and the charger meters it with legal precision. In practice, AC-based V2G in UK homes is still a pilot-stage affair — most trials involve DC units like the Wallbox Quasar 2, and compatible vehicles remain a short list. Buying the Go 2 for V2G alone is a bet that the ecosystem catches up within the charger's five-year warranty window. That is not a certainty.

What does earn its keep right now: the MID-approved energy meter. If you charge a company car at home and reclaim electricity costs, a legally certified reading saves you the hassle of a separate sub-meter. The subscription-free 4G is a quiet bonus too — no Wi-Fi signal on the driveway, no problem, and no monthly fee for the privilege. OCPP 1.6J compliance means the Go 2 can talk to third-party energy management platforms, which matters if you later add solar or battery storage.

Still, at £638 the Go 2 sits £149 above the Easee One at £489, which handles the same daily charging job on a single-phase supply without the V2G promise. If you are not claiming mileage and do not plan to export energy from your car, that £149 is hard to justify.

The Simpson & Partners case: build quality you can touch

The Home 7 takes a different approach to earning £649. Its anodised aluminium enclosure is UK-manufactured and carries a 10-year warranty — longer than any rival on the market. (A caveat the spec sheet buries: internal electronics are warranted for three years, not ten. The decade applies to the housing.) Premium finishes — Accoya wood, Cotswolds Green — put it in visual competition with the Andersen A3, which costs £900. For buyers who care about kerb appeal, the Andersen A3 vs Simpson & Partners Home 7 comparison spells out where the £251 gap goes.

The Home 7 also offers something the Go 2 cannot: a tethered version with a 5-metre cable. If you want to plug in without fetching a cable from the boot every evening, that alone may settle the decision. And it supports Intelligent Octopus Go scheduling directly — the platform tells the charger when to draw power at 8p/kWh, no manual timer needed. The Go 2, by contrast, leaves tariff scheduling to you: set a window in the Zaptec app and hope your off-peak hours don't shift. On a fixed tariff like Octopus Go (8.5p/kWh, 00:30–05:30) that is fine. On anything dynamic, it is a limitation.

Installer networks and the smaller-brand trade-off

Both chargers share a weakness: neither has the installer footprint of an Ohme Home Pro or a Hypervolt Home 3 Pro. Simpson & Partners' network is the smaller of the two. Before you commit to either, confirm a local fitter is comfortable with the specific unit — an unfamiliar installer can mean longer lead times and, occasionally, a reluctance to honour warranty claims they did not originate. This is a practical concern, not a theoretical one.

The verdict

Buy the Zaptec Go 2 if:

• You want an AC charger marketed as V2G-ready because it publishes ISO 15118 communication support, and you accept the timeline risk
• You need a MID-approved meter for company-car mileage claims
• Subscription-free 4G matters because your Wi-Fi does not reach the drive

Buy the Simpson & Partners Home 7 if:

• You want a tethered charger with premium finishes for less than the Andersen A3
• A 10-year enclosure warranty appeals more than a five-year full warranty
• You use Intelligent Octopus Go and want direct scheduling without workarounds

For most single-phase homes charging a Tesla overnight on a fixed off-peak tariff, the Simpson & Partners Home 7 is the sounder purchase. It does the daily job, it looks good doing it, and its enclosure will still be under warranty when the car on the drive is on its second set of tyres. The Go 2 is the more interesting charger — but interesting and useful are not yet the same thing.